IS: Infinite Stratos - Soar to Infinity
by TheFighter23
Summary: A new boy has transferred to the IS Academy, and the Academy is again turned on its head. My first ever fanfic so please be kind but honest. It starts out slowly, but it does get better. I will amend the chapters for improvement based on feedback so if you're confused by a new chapter, try rereading previous ones for clarification.
1. Another Rarity

Chapter 1: Another Rarity

Morgan Richardson was a typical American teenage boy. He was 6 feet tall, loved video games and sports, and had thick, short, wavy red hair that made his head look like it had caught fire. One extraordinary feature that Morgan had was his intellect. He possessed a high level of intelligence, and was able to process complex thoughts and ideas with ease. He had a firm understanding of physics and other sciences, and he absolutely adored reading and writing. Justly confident of his abilities, Morgan had signed up to take the SATs in order to get into college, but he now wandered, hopelessly lost, in the multi-purpose building where the tests were held.

"Aw man, I'm never gonna find my way out, let alone find the testing room" Morgan said to himself. He was silently lamenting the fact that he had not payed attention to the exact location of the testing room when he had registered online, but it was too late to change it now. He was stuck wandering around in a massive building with absolutely no bearing on where he was.

Morgan turned a corner, and was thrilled to see a woman with a clipboard sitting behind a desk. He quickly walked over to her and asked, "Hello, is this where the test is being held? " to which the woman, not even glancing up from her clipboard, hastily replied, "Yes. Go into the next room and suit up". _Suit up?_ Morgan thought it was a strange thing to say, but he disregarded the thought, and quickly moved into the next room.

Morgan noted three things upon entering the room:  
1. The room was devoid of all chairs and desks.  
2. There room was entirely dark, save a lone spotlight that shone down onto a strange metal suit.  
3. He was the only person in the room.  
This was definitely not the right room, but Morgan was too fixated on the machine in front of him to fully register that thought. It was a strangely complex piece of machinery. It had many different panels and attachments, and it looked menacing. There were many different guns poking out of different openings, and where its hands should have been, there were large, metal claws. Morgan was captivated. He had always thought that machines were fascinating; especially complex things. He put down the backpack he had been carrying, and went in for a closer look. He realized that it was some sort of mechanical suit meant for human use. He didn't understand how it worked or what exactly it was, but he was still itching to try it out.

_Well she did say to suit up, _Morgan thought. He quickly jumped into the suit, and sat while all of the securing mechanisms strapped him in. He tried walking around in the suit to start out. It was very difficult at first, but he eventually got the hang of it. Morgan then tried punching and kicking in the suit, again with limited success at first, but it eventually became easier.

Morgan was about to look through the suit's other features when the woman with the clipboard, having realized her mistake, burst throught the door yelling, "YOU SHOULDN'T BE IN HE-".

The words caught in her throat when she saw Morgan staring guiltily at her from inside the suit. He turned towards her, and bowed over; apologizing repeatedly. After a few seconds of feverous apologies, Morgan looked up at the woman. Her silence was making him even more nervous, but her face was not angry as he had expected. Upon seeing Morgan in the suit, her face had swiftly changed from one of irritation to one of confusion and shock. It made Morgan nervous, and he nervously asked, "What's wrong?". Her response was so soft that Morgan had to strain to hear it, but he barely heard her whisper, "You shouldn't be able to do that". Morgan was very confused and he asked her, "What do you mean?", but the woman just told him to stay where he was, and left the room.

Morgan waited nervously. _Oh God I'm gonna be in so much trouble_, He thought, _I'm gonna be in jail for years_. He was scared out of his mind, and it didn't help that several heavily armed women burst throught the door and surrounded him. Morgan was so scared that he was shaking when another woman walked into the room. She seemed different from the others somehow, more... authoritative. She looked like she was in charge, and didn't seem thrilled to have to deal with this situation.  
The woman's gaze fixed on Morgan, and she belted out, "What's your name?".  
Morgan managed to stammer out, "M-Morgan Richardson", and the woman started looking him up and down.  
"Why are you in that suit?" The stern woman asked.  
"I just thought I'd play around in this suit for a bit. I'm sorry" Morgan said as he lowered his head in shame.  
"Do you know what you're in right now?" The woman asked.  
"No, ma'am" said Morgan.  
"You are in a special suit called an 'Infinite Stratos'" The woman informed him.  
"Oh..." Morgan quietly responded, "It's a very nice suit". the term Infinite Stratos seemed faintly familiar to him, but he still didn't recognize the name.  
"It sure as hell is" the woman retorted. " It's the finest piece of machinery in the world, and you've just taken it for a joyride"  
Morgan sank even deeper into his shame, and quietly replied, "I'm sorry".  
The woman kept grilling him, "Do you know why that's gotten our attention?"  
Morgan gave the obvious answer, "Because it's a very expensive piece of machinery being operated by someone who wasn't supposed to be here in the first place."  
"Not just that", said the woman. "It's also because of what you are"  
That confused Morgan. "What do you mean?" He asked.  
The woman responded in turn, "You're a boy".  
Morgan was even more confused now. "Is that bad?" He asked.  
The woman replied, "Only girls should be able to operate an IS".

Morgan was stupified. He didn't know how to respond. Thankfully, the woman wasn't done talking.  
"The fact that you are able to operate one with such ease is nothing short of a miracle"  
"Um, thank you?"  
"You are a rarity Mr. Richardson. The government will be contacting your family to discuss matters furthur, but it looks like you have a bright future ahead of you. Congratulations, Mr. Richardson. You are now officially an IS pilot, and you will recieve training from the US Government within a few weeks, and then you will be sent to the IS Academy"  
The woman then gave Morgan a smile, turned around, and left the room along with the security force that had surrounded him.

Morgan stood there in shock for a few minutes. _An IS pilot? IS Academy?_ All of these thoughts were buzzing in his brain, but a feeling of excitement came with it. Morgan wasn't sure what exactly his future held, but one thing was sure. This was way more fun than the SATs, but he never thought about all of the drama that would now be a part of his life. Nor did he ever think about the fact that his life would never be the same. For now, though, he was sitting in ecstasy; dreaming about his future.


	2. Another Transfer?

Chapter 2: Another Transfer?!

Ichika Orimura stumbled into class like he did every day, and proceeded to make a bee line for the huddled mass of his friends. He said hi to each of them in turn; Charlotte, Laura, Rin, Cecilia, and Houki, and they all welcomed him with warm smiles.

" Hey Ichika" Houki said, "Do you feel OK?"

" Yeah. That Silver Gospel gave me a hell of a beating, but I should be ok" Ichika smiled back to reinforce his response. That was true, but he had also managed to get a girlfriend out of it. Much to the displeasure of the other girls, Ichika had chosen Houki as his girlfriend.

Suddenly, though, the conversation switched to gossip

"Hey, did you hear about the new kid?" Rin blurted out.

"What new kid?" Ichika asked as he started to look around.

"They're not here yet, but some American kid figured out how to work an IS", said Rin.

"I see, and why is that important?" Ichika asked. He thought it was cool having a new student, but the description didn't seem particularly dazzling.

"It's important because it's another boy, Ichika" this time Houki was the one to respond.

"Are we sure it's really a boy?" The comment made Charlotte blush. After the whole charlotte/charles fiasco, Ichika was understandably skeptical.

"Well the poor boy has been surrounded by media since his existencewas announced so all of the information says yes." Cecilia answered.

"It is not hard to trick ze media" Charlotte reminded them

"Well we'll all find out soon, I guess" said Ichika

"My sources have also informed me zat his government has taken extreme measures for zi sake of his country" Laura told him. " He is the unofficial property of zi United States government ". The way Laura said it detracted from the significance of the statement. He had been cut off from his old life, and shipped off to the Academy. Ichika could only imagine how traumatizing the experience must have been.

"Well nevertheless," Charlotte said " we shall befriend him all ze same. Wi?"

Her accent made everyone smile, and Ichika replied, "Absolutely"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chifuyu called for the class to sit down, and all of the students rushed to their seats, and Rin went to her class. As soon as the students had all settled down, Maya Yamada, the teacher's assistant, announced to the class that there was a new student. The classroom was abuzz with anticipation to see only the second boy ever to pilot an IS.

"So if you'll please give him your attention, he'll introduce himself", said Yamada.

When she finished talking, a tall boy walked into the room slighty hunched over and with his hands in his pockets. He was pale with red hair, and the school uniform made him look like a giant candle that had been dragged out for show. He was a decently attractive boy. He was lean, and had a prominent jaw-line with a nice nose to match. Ichika thought to himself that the boy wouldn't be able to escape attention from all of the girls. The boy stopped at the front of the class, and turned to speak to his new classmates.

"Hello" the boy said with a big, goofy smile. Ichika was slightly surprised to hear him speak with a British accent... or was it Irish? Either way, Ichika cast a look back at Cecilia to see her face light up, and chuckled inwardly.

"My name is Morgan Richardson," the boy said as his name flashed up on the holographic screen behind him, "and it's very nice to meet all of you"

"Would you like to tell us about yourself, Morgan?" Ms. Yamada asked.

The question seemed to catch him off guard.

" Well, um, I'm from the United States, and, uh, I'm half-British, and I love music and singing".

At the mention of British, Ichika again looked back to see Cecilia's face light up. It wouldn't be hard to figure out who would be the first when they got a chance.

"Thank you, Morgan" Ms. Yamada said with a smile, "You can take a seat now".

Morgan scanned the class for a second, and decided that a desk towards the back was to his liking, and sat down in it. The rest of class continued as normal; albeit with most of the girls gossiping about the new kid and stealing glances at him while he stared out of the window. As soon as the boy had sat down, he had adopted a distant expression and just stared out of the window. The only thing that broke him from his trance was Ceclilia's intrusion during a class break.

She slammed her hands on his desk, and loudly asked, "Are you really British?".

Morgan was slightly startled to hear a British voice, and it took a second for him to shake off his hypnosis. He eventually answered, "Half-British, but yes".

Cecilia let out a squeel of happiness, and said, "Well than you surely must have heard of the Alcott family! We're very prominent aristocrats!"

Morgan felt awkward telling her, "I honestly haven't, sorry"

Cecilia was outraged that not even a Brit had heard of her.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVEN'T HEARD OF US?! WE'RE ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS NAMES IN ENGLAND!"

Morgan sank into his chair a little more when Charlotte thankfully intervened.

"Come now, Ceclilia. You are not making a very good impression on our new classmate"

Morgan was relieved that someone had come to the rescue.

Charlotte smiled at him and introduced herself.

" Bonjour, my name is Charlotte Dunois, and zis is my friend Ms. Cecilia Alcott". Her smile was the most charming thing Morgan had seen in a while, and he couldn't help smiling back.

"Nice to meet you guys, haha. Any other friends I should be careful of?"

"Wi" she said with a chuckle, "but I will let zem introduce zemselves".

A tall girl with a long, brown ponytail approached Morgan, and extended her hand, saying, "My name is Houki Shinonono. Nice to meet you". Morgan took her hand and smiled back in response.

Another girl approached him, but she had long grey hair that wasn't done up and had an eyepatch over her left eye. She also wore very baggy pants tucked into her boots instead of the normal skirt. She extended her hand in an almost robotic way, and blurted out in a German accent, "My name ist Laura Bodewig". Morgan felt slightly uneasy after the rather coarse greeting, but he casually took her hand, and responded with a smile, " Nice to meet you Laura".

Suddenly a boy appeared, and before he could say anything, Morgan shot up and did his introduction for him.

" You must be Ichika Orimura. Right?".

Ichika was taken aback by the boy's knowledge of him.

"Um, yeah"

Morgan seemed to loosen up after that confirmation.

Then he said with that same goofy smile,"One of the first things I asked when I was told about being an IS pilot was 'Is there another boy', haha. I was so relieved when they told me there was".

His laugh was so carefree that everyone relaxed, and any awkwardness that was felt quickly dissolved.

Then Charlotte asked, "Are you doing anything for lunch, Morgan?".

"Well I was hoping to eat lunch with you guys, if you'd have me", he replied.

"Of course. We'd be happy to have ya with us" Ichika replied," It would be a great time to introduce you to our friend in Class 2 too."

"We're eating on the roof today, but we'll show you where that is when class ends" He added.

Morgan quickly joked, "Well I should hope that the roof would be on the top of the building or else this school has a terrible architect".

The group laughed at the comment, but were stopped from furthur conversation by a call from the front of the room. Ms. Yamada had returned to the front of the classroom by this point, and was calling students back to their seats so that class could resume. They all agreed that they'd meet up when class ended to have lunch together, and then sat back down in their seats.

Morgan hadn't been there very long, but he was happy to have made some new friends. His thoughts wandered back to his old life, and how violently his life had changed. He remembered his tearful last call to his parents before he was shipped off to the Academy, and they were moved for their security. He teared up when he thought of the final time he hung out with his friends before leaving, and how his lines of communication with them had been cut off too. The girls in the class all started gosipping about him as he sat staring out of the window, looking at a life that he wasn't sure he wanted.


	3. An Interesting Meal

Chapter 3: An Interesting Meal

After class let out, Ichika, Morgan, and the girls all met up just outside of class, and made their way to the roof. The Academy had a somewhat bizarre schedule. Classes started pretty early, but they got out at 12:30 for the day. The theory was that the students were already so inundated with information on the IS that letting them out early would give them time to digest the lessons. It would also give the students an opportunity to experiment with the IS, and better understand its functions or at least that was the theory. Morgan was just happy to get out. He couldn't help noticing the small groups of girls that were following them as they were walking, but Laura turned around after a while, and scared them off. After walking in silence for a few minutes, Ichika decided to start asking Morgan questions while they walked.

"So, Morgan" He started, "Whereabouts in the US are you from?"

" That's kind of a tricky question," Morgan replied.

"I was born in Alaska, and I spent some early years there, but I consider Georgia more my home."

"Where's that?" Ichika had just remembered that his understanding of American geography was non-existent, but he thought it would be fun to know anyway.

Morgan, meanwhile, was having a hard time thinking of an explanation that the group would understand until he finally settled for saying, "It's on the Atlantic Coast"

That seemed to satisfy the rest of the group.

Ichika then asked, "Was it a nice place", and Morgan's mood suddenly changed as he remembered his home. He had a distant yet peaceful look on his face as he remembered all of the fun he had had exploring the woods behind his house as a child, and how he used to throw the football with his friends in the soccer fields by his house. He eventually responded quietly, "Yeah. Yeah it was".

After a few seconds of awkward silence, there came another question.

"Do you have any special interests" Charlotte asked; trying to quickly change the topic. Morgan looked at her with a blank expression for a few seconds before his mind clicked back to life.

"Oh. Yes. Quite a few, actually" Morgan replied with a smile. "I'm really into sports."

"Like what?" She asked

"American football, tennis, and basketball, mainly, but I'm up for pretty much anything" He responded.

"That's fun" Houki said. "Anything else?"

"I play the clarinet and sing" Morgan informed them.

"I do adore the sound of the clarinet" Cecilia said. "It's such a rich, dark sound".

"It is one of my favorites as well" Charlotte added. "You must play for us sometime".

"I don't know" Morgan cautioned them. "I'm not very good. I mean, I'm certainly not terrible, but I'm definitely no prodigy either"

"Well I'm sure we'd all like to listen anyway" Houki assured him.

"OH!" He exclaimed with sudden remembrance that caught the group off guard. "I also write poetry, haha"

Everyone's opinion of him changed with that statement. Suddenly this tall, geeky boy seemed like a charming, intelligent young man.

"Vuld you mind sharing some vith us?" Laura asked.

"I'd love to read some to you guys sometime" Morgan replied nervously. He couldn't stop himself from blushing, and he was almost starting to regret bringing it up. "Just not today" he said. "I'm really self-concious about it... but maybe some other night?"

"We'd love to hear your poetry" Houki said. "Isn't that right?"

"But of course" Charlotte replied.

"I very much look forward to it" Cecilia answered.

"Absolutely" Laura said, making it unanimous.

Just then, Ichika, who had silently been muted by the girls after his last comment went awry, said, "Here we are"

Without realizing it, they had worked their way up to the roof. As Ichika opened the door, they heard a familiar, loud voice holler, "HEY, what took you guys so long"

"Hey Rin" Ichika replied as stepped out onto the roof "We were giving our new friend a little tour".

"Hi there" Rin greeted the new boy with a smile

"Well hello there" He replied. "My name is Morgan. Nice to meet you".

"Nice to meet you too. My name is Linying Huang, but you can call me Rin" Rin said as they shook hands.

"Oh crap" Morgan exclaimed. "I don't have a lunch". He had been so distracted in class that he never thought to go get food before coming to the roof.

"That's OK" Ichika assured him. "You can have some of ours".

"Are you sure that's not too much trouble?" Morgan asked.

"It's fine" Ichika said. Meanwhile, the girls were exchanging confused looks; silently asking if anyone had actually agreed to that arrangement. They eventually decided that it wasn't a very big deal, and opened their lunches

"Wow, thanks guys" Morgan said sheepisly with his friends' lunches laid out in front of him. "This all looks really good".

"Here, Morgan, try one of these." Cecilia said while handing him a sandwhich.

Morgan inspected it to see what the ingredients were, and his stomach moaned in protest when he realized it was a Marmite sandwich. His father had eaten tons of them, but they never really appealed to Morgan. They were just too bitter for his liking. Still, though, he felt it would be rude to refuse food, especially when he had none, so he plastered on a fake smile in thanks, and took a bite. It was as bad as he remembered, and maybe even worse. The bitterness ran across his tongue like the Black Plague; killing every last tastebud it touched. Morgan chewed slowly with his eyes closed until Cecilia asked, "How is it?". She was such a nice girl, and he felt so bad for disliking her food that he forced himself to give a false thumbs up in approval while inwardly apologizing to his tastebuds.

Everyone but Cecilia could tell that Morgan was miserable so Rin happily offered him some of her sweet and sour pork. Morgan held up a finger telling her to wait while he finished his current mouthful. With his eyes still closed, Morgan finished chewing, and proceeded to gear his body up for the impending hell. Morgan said one last prayer of forgiveness to his stomach, and swallowed. His stomach hated him immediately, but Morgan had already moved on to a food that he knew he would like.

Morgan had always loved Chinese food, and was more than happy to have a piece of Rin's sweet and sour pork. He popped a piece into his mouth, and took his time chewing; relishing the taste and the texture of the pork.

"Wow, Rin" Morgan exclaimed. "This is fantastic!".

"Would you like to try some of mine?" Charlotte asked.

Charlotte had prepared a baguette sandwich woth beef, lettuce, and onions that looked absolutely delicious. Morgan had to pursuade his stomach that this sandwich was good, but he eventually managed to get a bite own, and thoroughly enjoyed it when he did.

"Oh my goodness, Charlotte" Morgan said. "That's incredible"

Morgan had never had French cuisine. The closest he had ever been to France was South England which is famous for it's terrible food.

Laura was getting jealous of the attention the other girls were getting, and so she thrust her meal in front of Morgan, saying, " You must try some of my food as vell". Morgan was surprised by the forcefullness of her offer, but he looked down to see that Laura had made a bratwurst for lunch. Morgan had very fond memories of bratwurst growing up. He had been introduced to them by his father, and it was a good reason for his dad and himself to sit down together for lunch, and it helped him bind with his dad. With these memories in the forefront of his mind, Morgan happily ate from Laura's plate before exclaiming, "God I love german cuisine" with a smile and a laugh.

Noticing how much greater Morgan's response was with the other girls' food, Cecilia started getting jealous, and she asked, "What did you think of my food, Morgan? Surely you must love British cuisine. I mean, you ARE half British". Morgan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Rin said, "Please. He was miserable when he ate your crappy sandwich. He clearly loved my food more". Now both Rin and Cecilia were looking at Morgan; bith looking for him to say that their meal was better. Morgan once again opened his mouth to try and appease both parties, but Charlotte interrupted him and said, "Didn't you think zat my food was good, Morgan". Before Morgan could even open his mouth, Laura shouted, "You are joking. My bratwurst vas clearly his favorite food". The girls all glared at each other with eyes full of competetive fire, and then they all started shouting at each other. They eventually turned to Morgan, and started shouting at him; demanding that he rank his meals. Morgan was too confused to respond with everyone talking at once so he stayed where he was, inbetween all of the girls, and desperately tried to discern a sentence so that he know what was going on..

This whole time, Ichika and Houki had been quietly eating their food to the side of the other group. They hadn't made enough to share so they just sat back and watched the spectacle, but when things started getting dangerous, Ichika stepped in and said, "SO who's up for some IS practice?".

Morgan quickly said, "I am" and stood up. The girls all glared at each other for an instant, and started gathering their things so that they could leave .

"Great. So let's clean up our mess, and we'll go to the arena." Ichika said. "It will be a fun opportunity to see your IS, Morgan".

"Yeah" Morgan replied while the others were picking up their stuff. "It will be fun to see all of yours too".

They both waited while the girls gathered their things, and then went off to the arena to see how many tricks their new friend had up his sleeve.


	4. Battle Royale!

Chapter 4: Battle Royale!

When the group finally arrived at the stadium, the boys were forced to wait outside of the one changing room available as the girls changed first. Thankfully, all of them emerged relatively quickly, and the boys got their turn to change.

"We'll be waiting for you two, so don't keep us waiting" Cecilia said.

"Don't worry. We'll be quick" Ichika shot back as he and Morgan entered the changing room.

The boys quickly found an alcove in which they could change, and started stripping down to their IS uniform.

As Ichika changed, he thought about the girls' strange behavior around Morgan, and he wondered what it could mean. He was never the most perceptive person in the world when it came to emotion, but he could tell that they were acting unusual around Morgan. As he got his shirt off, Ichika decided to shelf the thought for another time.

As Morgan changed, his thoughts again wandered towards memories of his old life. He wasn't even paying attention to what he was doing; his body was on auto-pilot. Thousands of images and fragmented memories flashed before his eyes, and Morgan was lost in it all.

_I can't keep thinking about it_ Morgan told himself. _I've got to ignore it for now. It's not doing me any good thinking about all of this now_.

He forced the memories to the back of his mind as he slipped the latex top of his IS uniform on. He put on the necklace that had been hiding under his shirt, and the small, black, angel-like figurine assured Morgan that everything was alright. Finally calming his mind, Morgan looked to see if Ichika was done changing too.

When both of them had finished, they headed out into the arena together. It wasn't hard for Ichika and Morgan to spot the girls, and they decided to have a friendly race to see who could reach them first.

The girls had been talking amongst themselves while they waited, and most of the talk centered around their new friend.

"So... what do you think about Morgan?" Charlotte asked.

"He is a very intevesting boy" Laura said. "He seems like a good guy so far, but vi still do not know much about him".

"I agree" Cecilia said. "He's been very good company to this point, but he's managed to avoid telling us anything major about himself". She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

"It appears that we will simply have to wait to find out more about him before we can judge his character".

"Hello ladies" a slightly British voice from behind suddenly said. "What are you all talking about?"

The girls quickly turned around to find Morgan smiling and panting slightly; with Ichika slightly behind him jogging towards the group.

"Oh hello, Morgan" Cecilia said nervously. "We weren't talking about anything really".

"Yeah" Rin added. "Nothing important"

"Oh" he replied, disappointed, "okay".

Morgan hadn't heard what the girls had said. He had been too focused on winning the race to listen. Morgan's mind had been focused on his legs and his breathing so his ears were essentially turned off when he finally reached the girls.

A few seconds later, Ichika joined them, and said, "Ok, guys, what do we wanna do?".

The members of the group looked at each other, and Morgan said, "Well we could spar".

"Sounds good to me" Ichika replied with a smile. "Is that okay with you guys?"

The girls didn't have any objections.

They decided as a group that they would have champion-style matches. Two people would start out fighting, and the winner got to stay in and face the next challenger. The loser would have to go to the back of the line, and wait until everyone else had gone before they could fight again. The people who weren't fighting would sit in the arena's stands and watch. In addition, Houki would use her IS' special ability to restore the champion's shields after each match.

The first two people up were Rin and Charlotte. The match started out with the two girls dashing at each, and slashing at each other's shields, but they barely made contact with each other so it shifted to being a mid-range battle. From there, Charlotte had a massive advantage. Her Rafael Revive was much more nimble and manueverable than Rin's Shenron, and the Revive also had much better weapons for a mid-range shootout. The Revive's various guns fired at a much faster rate than the Shenron's Impact Cannons, and they messed up Rin's rythym when she was trying to get an attack off. It looked like it was Charlotte's battle to lose, but suddenly, Rin caught Charlotte off guard by charging at her. Charlotte wasn't quick enough to react, and Rin took her shields down with ease when she got in close. It was a great match to watch, and Charlotte was gracious in defeat, and moved behind Morgan at the back of the line.

The next challenger was Cecilia, and it was a much shorter match. Instead of instantly trying to distance herself like she always did, Cecilia stood her ground and fired at Rin with her sniper rifle. Rin was caught off guard by Cecilia's sudden boldness, and retreated to a distance, forgetting that the Blue Tears was a long-range type IS. From there Cecilia had a massive advantage, and just picked Rin apart with her Blue Tears' cannons.

Rin was upset that she lost, but she accepted her defeat, and moved behind Charlotte at the back of the line.

Laura was the next challenger to step up. This match was much closer than anyone expected. Cecilia retreated back so that she could take full advantage of her Blue Tears' long-range capabilities. This also gave Laura an advantage because she could sit back and fire with her Schwarzer Regen's rail gun. Cecilia was forced into evasive action, but never stopped shooting at Laura. After a few minutes, Cecilia's shots started doing some damage, and Laura was forced to use her IS' Active Inertia Canceller to stop Cecilia's onslaught. Then Laura tried to use her IS' wired daggers to grab Cecilia, but Cecilia was too quick. Cecilia evaded them kne after the other, and lined up one perfect shot that hit Laura hard enough to take her shields down. Everyone went crazy when the match ended. By this point, a crowd had gathered to watch the group's matches, and both girls recieved a massive round if applause from their audience. Laura was not at all happy to lose, but the crowd helped her get over her disappointment. She moved behind Rin at the back of the line.

Charged with the tough task of following up that match, Houki stepped into the arena. This match was a huge letdown from the last match as Houki's 4th Generation Akatsubaki was too quick for Cecilia to track, and Houki was able to knock her around until her shields were down. It ended within minutes, but the crowd still applauded both girls. Cecilia was embarrassed to have been beaten so badly, but she was still the epitome of class, even lifting Houki's arm up after the fight as a sign that she was the champion. She took her place behind Laura at the back of the line.

The crowd was abuzz with anticipation as Ichika stepped onto the Arena's grounds. He wasted no time in transforming his Byakushiki into its second stage form, and the battle began. Both of the IS-s were very quick, and set up for close- to mid-range combat. Houki and Ichika both charged at each other when the match started, and collided with massive force in the middle of the arena. They were almost too fast to see when they were boosting around the arena, trying to gain position on each other. When it came to mid-range combat, Houki's Akatsubaki had a massive advantage because her IS' swords could also launch beams of energy while Ichika's sword was strictly a melee weapon, and he was both impractical and highly dangerous for him to use Byakushiki Setsura's other abilities. Knowing that it was dangerous, Ichika tried not to stay in mid-range for very long. Ichika got caught by surprise, though. Houki launched an energy projectile at him, and hid behind it while she charged at him. Ichika dodged, but he was hit by Houki's swords and knocked to the ground. As Ichika was getting up, Houki launched projectile after projectile at him from above, but Ichika was not yet done fighting. He turned his head up, and used an ignition boost to launch himself directly at Houki's barrage of energy. Ichika started deflecting some of Houki's shots away from him as he continued to accelerate towards his childhood friend, and as he went, his IS started to glow. Ichika was suddenly streaking towards Houki with incredible speed, having gotten through her projectile gauntlet, and he screamed as he brought his sword to his side, "REIRAKUU BYAKUYAAAHH!". He then delivered a brutal slash to Houki's IS that completely depleted her shields, and left Ichika with roughly ten percent of his shields left.

The crowd EXPLODED in thunderous applause. By now, most of the students had gathered to watch the matches, and even some of the instructor's had come around to watch, but all of them were on their feet clapping and screaming like maniacs for the incredible match that the two first-year students had put on. Morgan was the only one in the crowd that didn't go completely mental when the match ended. He was shocked that their machines were capable of both taking and dealing such incredible damage, and he had been focusing on watching the match closely to pick up on any patterns. His hands wandered to the angel figurine on the thread around his neck, and it assured him that he could go toe-to-toe with either of them, and hold his own. Morgan was calmed by the thought, but he still waited nervously for his time to enter the arena.

Meanwhile, on the arena's floor, both competitors were thrilled. Houki wasn't even upset to have lost. It was the best performance she had ever had in an IS, and she was high on the adrenalin coursing through her veins. She and Ichika both exchanged smiles, and Houki followed Cecilia's example, and held Ichika's hand up to the crowd. The crowd was deafeningly loud in praise of the new champion, but there was one more person that need to have his turn, and both Houki and Ichika knew that. Houki restored Ichika's shields with the reserve energy from her IS, and walked over to where her friends were sitting. She walked by Morgan on the way, and said as she passed, "Good luck out there" to which he jokingly replied, "How the hell do I follow that up?".

The buzz of anticipation still hung onto the crowd as Morgan stepped out into the arena. They knew Ichika was very good, they had just been reminded of that, but no one knew anything about the new boy's IS or his ability to pilot it. The prospect of another brilliant fight had the crowd buzzing with excitement.

Morgan slowly walked into the center of the arena, and turned to face Ichika, who smiled at him. Morgan smiled in response, and spun around to the whole crowd, yelling, "HOW ABOUT ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR THAT LAST BATTLE?". The crowd needed no furthur provocation, and they once again erupted into thunderous, deafening applause. After a few minutes spent reeling the crowd in, Morgan then said, "I don't know if all of you know me, but I'm sure that most of you know of me. I'm new here; this is actually my first day, but it's very nice to meet all of you". The crowd cheered in greeting for another few seconds before he called for their attention once more, "I know that you probably want me to get on with the match, and I will in a second, but I just wanted you to know that I can't promise to live up to that last round's excitement, but I will do my absolute best to give you guys a good show". The crowd started applauding again, and Morgan turned to face Ichika, and said, "Don't hold back on me".

Ichika smiled back at him and nodded.

Having gotten all of his nerves out with his speech to the crowd, Morgan touched his figurine, and activated his IS; shouting, "Black Angel ACTIVATE". A very complex series of events took place, and 10 seconds later, his IS had materialized. It didn't look much like Ichika's IS or really anybody's for that matter. For one, it's wings were relatively small. They extended just beyond Morgan's shoulders, and stretched down to the backs of his knees instead of extending out and up like a normal IS. Another major difference between Morgan's IS and other suits was its very sleek design; it wasn't bulky at all, it didn't even have any openings for weapons, and it was much smoother in design than, say, Charlotte's Rafael Revive. It still covered Morgan's arms, legs, and chest like a normal IS, but no one would ever mistake it for a normal IS. It's chestpiece extended up to cover Morgan's neck and ears, and a black visor left only his jaw and his hair visible. There were two thin, white lines that travelled down the side of Morgan's arms and legs, and lines going up to his jaws, and all of the lines joined to form a heart-shaped logo on the chest. It's black-and-white paint job only heightened it's intimidating appearance, and, combined with his fiery hair, Morgan looked like an Angel of Death.

The crowd was in awe of Morgan's strange suit, and even Ichika took a second to look at it. He guessed from it's design that its setup was like his Byakushiki's: a lot of speed and offense with very little defensive capabilities. He thought to himself, "Okay. He'll be quick, but Byakushiki can keep up with him. His inexperience is going to show up at some point. All I've gotta do is wait for my moment to strike, and then I can end it quickly".

The crowd was quiet with anticipation as Morgan called out to Ichika, "Are you ready?". Ichika looked up at him, and nodded. After getting Ichika's confirmation, Morgan held his right hand out in the air horizontally; freezing it there for a few seconds before closing his hand as a long, white blade materialized. After a few test swings, Morgan and Ichika both got down into a battle stance.

The world seemed to freeze for a few seconds as they both stood still, staring each other down, and then, suddenly, they both disappeared in a puff of dust.


	5. A Flurry of Blades

Chapter 5: A Flurry of Blades

Ichika and Morgan reappeared in several spots in the stadium in quick succesion; colliding with huge amounts of force each time. Shockwaves were being sent out everytime they met, and most of the crowd had trouble following what was going on. From the boys' perspectives, though, they were clearly visible to each other. In their frame of reference, Morgan and Ichika were circling each other; trading blows at lightning speed. The two boys maintained the blinding pace of their fight for a few moments longer, but were eventually forced to pull back the reigns. Their ignition boosts were wearing off, and they couldn't go quickly anymore. They both slowly floated down to the floor of the arena, and took a few moments to catch their breath.

_Damn he's fast,_ Morgan thought, panting, _I've gotten a few good shots in, but I've been on the defensive for most of this._ He took a deep breath.

_Just relax, Morgan. He might have a better machine, but if you're clever enough, you can get him. You just have to be patient. _His suit resented being called inferior, and told him via a few flashing alerts on his visor. _Relax, Angel, _he told it lightheartedly, _As long as we're a team, no one can beat us_.

Ichika, meanwhile, was in the middle of his own thoughts.

_How can he be this quick? I knew that he'd be fast, but I thought I would still be able to lose him with Byakushiki's speed. I've landed some pretty good hits, but he's managed to get me a few times too_. Ichika finally managed to catch his breath, and allowed himself one last moment of thought.

_I've got plenty of my shields left, though. His movements have been getting steadily more erratic too. He's desperate. All I've got to do is keep the pressure on, and he'll make the mistake that will end this_.

The crowd had become deathly quiet. Many people needed a few minutes to process what had happened, and that included the boys' posse. They had all watched with gaping mouths; completely caught off guard by Morgan's ability to keep up with Ichika.

"How is he able to do zat?" Charlotte asked.

No one had an answer. They didn't think anyone other than Houki had an IS capable of matching the Byakushiki for speed. The other members of the crowd stared on in wonderment as the battle was about to resume.

Morgan and Ichika got back down in their stances, and started to slowly circle each other on the ground of the arena. They slowly approached each other as they circled until, eventually, Ichika took a swing at Morgan. Morgan blocked, and countered; hitting him, and forcing Ichika to retreat. Ichika checked his shields; reassured himself that he was still in a relatively safe position, and continued to circle Morgan.

_If I use my reserve energy to make one last boost at him, I can end this, _Morgan thought, _Just have to time it right._

Ichika had gotten within swiping range at this point, and took another swing at Morgan. He blocked again, and seeing an opening, diverted energy to his boosters, and launched at Ichika. Ichika side-stepped the redhead's attack, and slashed at him from behind; draining the last of his shields.

The crowd was in shock. It had ended so quickly, and some weren't sure if it was over. Steadily, though, a few members of the audience started to clap, and it grew and grew until the crowd was roaring as it had been before. Morgan hated that his own stupidity had led to the end of the match. _Sorry, Angel, _he said to his partner, _That was my fault. He_e got out of his suit, though, and congratulated Ichika anyway.

"Good job, man". He said with a smile. "You're an absolutely incredible pilot".

Ichika responded in kind, "You're not so bad yourself, Morgan. With time, those kinds of mistakes will disappear, and then you'll really be hard to beat".

As Ichika got out of his suit, Morgan grabbed his wrist, and held his hand up for the crowd. The crowd roared for the final champion, and then started to disperse. It was almost sunset now, and everyone was going off to have supper. The two boys looked for their friends, and saw that they were rushing to meet them in the middle of the arena.

When Ichika and Morgan were within earshot, Laura shouted, "Zat vas incredible"! Both of the boys looked at each other, and laughed at the comment.

"It truly was" Cecilia told them as the girls finally arrived in front of the boys.

"It was one of the most impressive fights I have ever had the pleasure of seeing"

"How were you able to go zat fast?" Charlotte asked Morgan.

"I'll explain it over supper" He replied. "Right now, I could use a good meal to replenish my energy, haha".

"Yeah" Ichika agreed. "Let's all change, and we'll talk about it over dinner".

They all started walking towards the locker rooms, and Morgan was looking forward to the meal that lied ahead...

After all of them had gotten their food, and chosen a table, Ichika and his group of friends all began interrogating their new friend.

"So, Morgan" Ichika started, "What is your IS' name?"

"Well the US Army called it the Trinity Oppenheimer," Morgan replied after taking a sip of green tea, "but I always called him Black Angel because of the way he looks".

"What do you mean 'he'" Houki asked.

"I don't know" the redheaded boy answered. "For some reason, it always seemed like a guy to me". Morgan had a connection with his IS that very few pilots had. Through a series of what Morgan liked to refer to as "happy accidents" during his construction, Black Angel had developed an intelligence and sentience. He responded to people in a way that seemed almost human. After all the loneliness that Morgan had been forced into, he quickly bonded with Black Angel, and the two developed a sort of symbiosis; being able to communicate with ease, and eventually becoming one in battle. Morgan decided that he must keep his friend's ability secret, though, and hid it away from everyone. His attributing a gender to Black Angel was the first slip-up Morgan had had in a long time.

"Your IS displayed incredible speed" Laura said, "How is it able to do zat"?

"Well it's my own custom IS so it was built to my specifications" Morgan explained."I think speed gives you a huge advantage in a battle, and a little trickery goes a long way too so I asked them to make it that fast. There are also some very cool features that I never got to show off" he said with a smirk.

"Like what?" Rin asked.

"Well I can send out phantom copies of myself to confuse people" Morgan informed her.

"Woah, that sounds cool!" Rin replied. "What other abilities do you have?"

"It's a secret" Morgan replied with a wink. Rin blushed at his response.

"Would you like me to help you after class, Morgan?" Charlotte asked.

Morgan took a minute to respond. The girls and Ichika all chalked it up to the fact that he was eating a bowl of rice when she asked, but Morgan was thinking about his battle with Ichika. He had always been a very competitive person, and the way he had lost to Ichika had left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Yeah, Charlotte, I think that'd be nice" he said with a smile.

"Well maybe I can help you too" Rin said. She didn't want to let anyone get an inside line on a relationship with the charming new kid.

"I could help you out too, you know" Ichika offered; trying to kill the tension.

"I would be more than happy to assist you as well, Morgan" Cecilia chimed in.

"Und I vuld also like to help" Laura added.

Things started getting intense between the girls, but Morgan was able to mitigate the situation.

"How about this" he said, "Rin can help me on Mondays; Laura can help me on Tuesdays; Ichika, you can help me on Wednsdays; Cecilia can have me on Thursdays, and Charlotte can get me on Fridays"

Everyone looked at each other, and agreed that it was an acceptable compromise.

"Awesome" Morgan exclaimed with a beaming smile, "I look forward to it".

By this time, everyone had finished their meal, and they were all realizing how tired they were. They all cleaned up their mess, and bade each other a sleepy goodnight before leaving for their beds. Ichika and Morgan talked for a little bit while they got ready for bed, but things quickly got quiet as Ichika nodded off, and Morgan felt himself slowly drifting off to sleep, but as he was slowly losing conciousness, his mind once again wandered back to his past.


	6. Still Night Serenade

Chapter 6: Still Night Serenade

Morgan found himself back in his hometown. He looked around for a second, confused, and saw nothing but beautiful woodland around him. The sun was shining through the leaves at just the right angle for sunbeams to show, and the faint sound of birds chirping was the only thing that penetrated the silence. Morgan closed his eyes, and turned his smiling face up to the sun; thinking, _I'm home_. He basked in the warmth of the sun, and the sweet melody of the birds furthur convinced him that he was in paradise. Suddenly, Morgan felt a presence behind him, and he turned to find his friends standing at a distance waving at him, and calling, "HEY, MORGAN! GET OVER HERE". Morgan smiled and laughed before starting to walk over to them, but while he walked, the distance never shrank. He sped up, but still nothing happened. He sped up more, but with no change. He was sprinting now; trying desperately to reach his friends, but to no avail. He continued to sprint, but as he ran, flames appeared at his friends' feet. Morgan stopped running as the flames spread and enveloped his friends; still smiling and waving at him. Morgan spun around to see the entire forest on fire. Huge hulks of machine crashed down into the trees, and unfolded to reveal themselves as IS units before furthur burning the forest down with their flamethrowers. Embers were flying into Morgan's eyes, and tears formed as he looked on in horror while his home and his life went up in flames. One of the suits turned towards Morgan, and began stomping over to him. Morgan stared at it in horror; frozen in place by fear. The huge metal beast got right in front of him, and pointed the nozzle of its flamethrower in Morgan's face. Tears were streaming down his face as he saw the flames start to spiral down the barrel.

Morgan awoke with a jolt. He was sweating profusely, and panted heavily as he reassured himself that it was just a dream. He could still feel the flames on his cheeks, and he sat up and looked around the room in an attempt to ease his mind. He thought to himself _THIS is real. This is what's real. It was all just a dream_. He looked over to see Ichika still sleeping, but Morgan was sure that he had made a lot of noise. Morgan then looked out the window. It was still very dark. His clock told him it was 12:10, but Morgan couldn't go back to sleep. He was too scared to close his eyes again.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Morgan decided that he needed to take a walk. He got out of bed, put some clothes on, and snuck out of the room as quietly as he could. He left Black Angel on his nightstand. He wanted to be completely alone. The lights in the hallway were turned off for curfew so Morgan emerged into darkness when he left the room. Morgan looked both ways down the hall before choosing his path and beginning. He knew exactly where he wanted to go; he needed some fresh air.

Morgan opened the door to the roof, and felt the chilly air hit his body as he did. He stepped out onto the barren roof, and walked over to the railing to look out over the school. The moon was incredibly bright for some reason, and it bathed everything in blue. Morgan began processing his dream, and trying to suppress the painful memories that continued to bubble up and terrorize him.

_God damnit why does it still hurt?_

_I keep trying to push it away, but the pain is still there_

Morgan was getting depressed over the fact that his past still managed to bother him so much. He closed his eyes, and tried once again to come to terms with his guilt. He tried his best to offer an apology to his friends and family wherever they were.

_I'm so, so sorry. I'm sorry I stumbled into that fucking room, and found that IS. I'm sorry I was so excited when they told me I would be an IS pilot. I'm sorry for what it did to our lives, and what it did to us. I'm sad that my life will never be the same, but more than that, I'm sorry that yours won't. I never thought that finding that suit could cause all of this. Never thought about the possibility that my actions could force you into hiding, and stop us from talking. I know I've said it too much, but it's the only thing I feel I can say: I'm sorry_.

Morgan's silent prayer was interrupted by the door to the roof opening once more. Morgan quickly turned to see Charlotte stepping out into the moonlight. She didn't even know he was there until Morgan called out, "Hello there". Charlotte jumped, and her eyes scanned to find the owner of the voice that had come from the dark.

When she did see Morgan, she nervously asked, "Oh, Morgan. W-What are you doing up here?".

"Nightmares" he said in response. "Couldn't get to sleep. What about you?"

Charlotte responded, "I had much zi problem". She fidgeted for a second before saying, "I can leave if you would prefer".

"No" Morgan quickly answered, "Let's keep each other company". He was still scared from his nightmare, and he desperately didn't want to be alone. He had been alone far too much.

Charlotte was shocked by how quickly he had responded, but gave him a warm smile after a few seconds, and he smiled back in return. She shuffled over to him, and leaned on the railing beside him.

"So" she started, "if you don't mind me asking, what were your nightmares about?"

Morgan hesitated for a moment. _Should I tell her...? Holding it in hasn't done me much good... Maybe I should try sharing it with someone other than Angel..._ After a few minutes of silence, Morgan started opening up.

He told her how he had found the IS, and how he had become a pilot. He also told her how he had been taken away shortly afterwards to recieve basic training from the US government, and how his family had been relocated for their safety before he could see them again. He detailed how his friends had recieved much the same treatment, and that he would probably never see them again. He told her of his country's fear that he would become a weapon that would be used against them by other countries, and how his country's limited capacity to train him led him to the IS Academy. He said that he also enrolled because of Ichika; he wanted to be close to someone in a similar situation. He didn't tell her about Angel's unique ability. He trusted her, but he was still too scared to tell her that.

Morgan went into great detail to explain everything that had haunted him since his story had begun, and he felt his burdeon lift slightly after sharing it.

"Wow" Charlotte said after taking a minute to process what Morgan had just divulged, "Zat is an incredible story".

"Sorry for dumping all of that on you" Morgan said, "I've just been carrying this burden on my own for a while now, and it hasn't gotten any easier".

"I am so sorry to hear about all zat has happened to you" Charlotte said; offering a sympathetic smile.

"Don't be" Morgan said, smiling back, "It's not your fault".

The two sat there for a few seconds before Morgan asked, "What's keeping you up?". Charlotte wasn't sure if she should divulge her story, but then thought that it would only be fair given that Morgan had been so forthcoming with his. She told him about her father and his corporation, and the elaborate trick that had gotten her into the Academy. She explained how Ichika had discovered her lie, and she had come clean to him about it. She detailed how Ichika had comforted her, and how he had convinced her to stay. But Charlotte also told Morgan about how she was still scared of her father and his company. She still had nightmares about what her father's company would do to her if she were to leave the Academy.

Morgan had been listening the entire time, and as he did, he became increasingly sympathetic and frustrated towards Charlotte's situation. Her struggle was so similar to his, and when Charlotte finished explaining her past to him, Morgan blurted out, "Fuck that. If they try anything, I'll be here to protect you". Charlotte was astonished by the boldness of the statement and the fire in his eyes when he said it. She blushed and responded, "Zank you very much, Morgan".

After that, they started talking about their life before the IS, and Charlotte told Morgan about her mother's house in France while Morgan described his house in Georgia to her. They continued reminiscing together for a couple of hours until they felt their eyelids getting heavy with drowsiness. Morgan walked Charlotte to her room, and said goodnight before going to bed himself.

As soon as Charlotte closed the door, her mind started racing. _What are zeez feelings? I can't like him. No, it is absolutely unacceptable... But he is quite charming, and he was so serious about protecting me. Maybe I do like him. Is zat so bad? _Charlotte got back into bed, and as she was falling asleep, she decided that it was a thought to continue the next day.

In his room, Morgan was discussing the matter with Angel. _She's really cool, but how could it possibly work out? We both have forces trying to rip us away from this place, and when we do graduate, we'll probably be forced our seperate ways. _Angel thought about everything Morgan had told him as well as everything that the two had been through together. He wanted his partner to be happy, and Charlotte clearly showed signs of making him so. As Morgan was drifting off to sleep, Angel formed one final question for his partner: _Years from now, when this place is but a distant memory, don't you at least want to say you tried?_

Both Morgan and Charlotte fell asleep with uncertain minds, but one thing was sure: it was the first time that they had slept soundly for a very long time.


	7. Practice Makes Perfect

Sorry for the delay! School's starting up again, and I've bee getting sick as well so I'm sorry if I didn't get the accents quite right. I'll go over it in the future, and fix it if you point it out. Anyways, here's the new chapter!

Chapter 7: Practice Makes Perfect

The next day was a Tuesday, and Morgan and Ichika stumbled into class together. Ichika went right over to their friends, and gave a very cheery greeting to them all while Morgan shuffled behind him. Morgan had slept soundly, but he still didn't get much sleep, and his body was begging to go back to bed. He managed to force out a smile, though, as his friends greeted him. He turned to look at Charlotte, and saw that she had the same tired look on her face. When the two made eye contact, they shared a brief smile before settling down while their friends talked. Ichika and the girls talked for a few minutes before Ms. Yamada called everyone to their seats.

Class seemed unusually long to Morgan that day. The seconds passed like minutes, and the minutes passed like hours. He remembered how tired he was, and thought to himself, _Nobody will notice if I take a little nap. I'll just lay my head down, and close my eyes..._ The noise of the classroom became muffled and distant as Morgan drifted off to sleep...

A huge bang went off by Morgan's head, and he shot up with a terrified look on his face; shouting, "I'M UP! I'M UP!". All of the girls started giggling while Morgan looked up to see Chifuyu glaring down at him disapprovingly and an IS manual on his desk.

"What were you doing, Richardson?"

"Oh, um, uh" Morgan searched for an explanation, but found none. He sighed, and told her honestly, "I was sleeping, ma'am".

Chifuyu scowled before walking to the front of the room.

"Well, Richardson" She said, "I assume that means that you know the material".

Morgan looked to Charlotte for help, but she just shrugged.

"So tell me" Chifuyu shouted, "How does the Byakushiki's Reiraku Byakuya work?"

Morgan quickly responded "It focuses all of the suit's energy into the blade, and even consumes some of its shields in order to maximize its attack. When the attack is fully charged, the pilot performs an ignition boost to charge at his/her opponent. The user then gets one shot at taking out their opponent before the attack's energy wears off".

Chifuyu scowled at him for a second before saying, "That is correct". The class was amazed at how quickly he had responded and how he was able to give the right answer without having paid attention. Morgan just sank back into his chair and fell back asleep. He should know it. After all, he had seen it first hand...

As soon as class ended, all of the students dispersed. Ichika and Houki went off to have some time to themselves; Rin popped her head in to see if anything interesting was going on, but left, and Charlotte went off to try and catch up on her sleep. Only two students had stayed behind: Morgan and Laura. Today was Tuesday; the day they were supposed to practice together. Laura had been sitting in her chair looking at Morgan for a while before she got out of her seat, and made her way over to his sleeping body. She was hesitant to wake him because she thought that he looked so peaceful, so cute when he slept. She was anxious to start their practice session, though, so she poked him tentatively to wake him.

Morgan moved for a second, and slowly peeked up from his desk. He waited a few seconds as his eyes focused, and looked over to see Laura waiting quietly to his side.

"What time is it" he asked before stretching his arms and legs.

Laura looked at the class' clock, and said, "It is 1 o'clock".

Morgan yawned once then got up out of his chair, and looked at Laura.

"I guess it's time for my lesson, then" He said with a smile.

Laura blushed and nodded, and they left for the arena...

Laura waited patiently for Morgan in the arena. As she did, her thoughts alternated between how cute he had looked when he was sleeping and that charming smile that seemed to be a permanent feature of his face.

_I vunder vut he thinks about me_, she thought to herself.

_I vunder if he thinks I'm cute_, she thought, blushing.

Laura was awoken from her daydream by Morgan's sudden appearance at her side and his asking, "Are you ready to practice".

Laura was embarrassed that she had been caught daydreaming, and quickly said, "Yes. Let's begin". The two squared off on opposite sides of the arena and got into their fighting stances.

Morgan stared Laura down for a few seconds before smirking and disappearing in a blur. He dashed straight at her with his sword held high, but Laura activated her AIC. Morgan stopped suddenly, and flew straight up; sending out copies of himself as he flew.

_Damn,_ Laura thought as the numerous Morgans started to circle her, _I forgot he could do that_.

Morgan and his copies swirled around Laura too quickly for her to follow. She was turning her head in all directions; trying to determine which one was real when she was suddenly knocked forward as Morgan slashed at her from behind.

_I have to do something fast,_ Laura thought as Morgan hit her again.

Suddenly, Laura unleashed the Schwarzer Regen's six wired daggers, and spun; eliminating all of the Morgan clones, and snaring the actual Morgan.

She flailed Morgan around; smashing him into the ground several times, and held him down while she readied the Schwarzer Regen's cannon to deliver the final blow. Morgan wriggled furiously as he tried to move his sword into a better position. Laura's shot was fully charged, and she fired her massive cannon at Morgan, but he used his sword to cut Laura's wires, and managed to fly up in time to avoid fatal damage.

Morgan looked at his shield strength: 16. _Great,_ he thought, _We can't make any mistakes now, Angel_. A light started to form in Morgan's left palm as he readied another previously unused feature: the hand blaster. _Let's do this_, He said to his partner, and Angel flashed his readiness on Morgan's visor. By this time, Laura had regrouped, and had started to send more wired daggers to ensnare her redheaded foe. Morgan waited calmly for her daggers to get close before loosing a shot at Laura. As soon as the blast left his hand, Morgan went into evasive action to avoid the German's daggers; silently praying that his plan would work.

Laura was faced with a difficult decision: she could either block Morgan's energy blast or keep attacking him with her daggers. She knew that she couldn't let his attack hit her, but she wasn't sure that she would get a better chance to beat him. She decided that she would attack him for as long as she could before having to block, but after seeing Morgan parry her daggers, it was clear that his shot would get to her before she would be able to get to him. She gave one last desperate attempt to get past his guard, but to no avail. She was forced to activate her AIC, and once she did, Morgan appeared behind her in a flash; slashing at her, and eliminating her shields.

Laura was severely disappointed, but when Morgan smiled at her and said, "Good Match", her disappointment faded. They both dismounted from their suits, and started walking to the changing rooms together.

"You were awesome, Laura" Morgan said with a grin, " I really thought you were gonna win".

"No, you ver very good" Laura replied, "I deserved to lose".

"No you didn't" Morgan reassured her, "We were both good".

"Hey," he asked, "are you doing anything for supper"

"Laura was shocked by the question.

"No" she replied.

"Well then do you want to go get something together" Morgan asked, " We can discuss the match while we eat"

"That sounds vunderful' she said as the blood started to color in her cheeks.

"Awesome" Morgan replied, "We'll go once we've both changed"

Laura went into the changing room first, and her head was buzzing with excitement.

_Is dis a date_?

_Does he vant it to be_?

_Does he think I'm cute_?

Laura could feel her face getting hot as she thought about the possible outcomes of dinner with her charming friend, and she hurried out of the changing room so Morgan could go in and change.

Morgan thought about Laura as he changed or, more specifically, he thought about the way she was acting. It was clear that she liked him, and Morgan wasn't sure how he felt about it. He wasn't attracted to her in the same way he was to Charlotte, but he did admit to himself that she was cute.

_At least give her a chance to win your heart_, Angel told him.

He buttoned up his Academy uniform's shirt, and walked out of the changing room as Angel said, _Who knows, she might just sweep you off your feet_.

He looked up as Laura walked over to him with a huge smile on her face. He couldn't help but smile in return, and the two walked off to the cafeteria together.


	8. A New Challenger Appears!

I was asked by a fellow author to include his OC into my story. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it for two main reasons. I wasn't sure if I could get it right, and I was scared it would take away from the story. I hope I've managed to at least introduce him well because the character description is coming up soon, rest assured. Anyway, just wanted to explain the title a little bit before you read, and I'd also like to say that this is not something I plan on doing much in the future. I might put out an alert later on saying that I'm accepting OCs, but for now, the suggestion box is closed. Hope this pre-word wasn't too long, haha. Enjoy!

Chapter 8: A New Challenger Appears!

Morgan and Laura got their food, and sat down.  
"So, Laura" Morgan started, "Do you have any special interests"?  
"Vell" Laura wasn't sure how to answer. She didn't really have many hobbies, a by-product of her upbringing, but she did have one.  
"I really like knives" she finally answered.  
"_Well that's utterly terrifying_", Morgan thought to himself  
"I guess I'd better stay on your good side" he half-joked.  
Both he and Laura laughed nervously. _Well I guess this is going nowhere_, Morgan thought.  
_Try asking about her past,_ Angel told him, _People always like to talk about themselves_.  
_But most people don't like to talk about their past_,Morgan countered.  
_Well ask her anyway,_ Angel retorted, _What other ideas do you have?_

Morgan gave up, and asked his German friend, "So, Laura, tell me about yourself".  
Laura hesitated before asking, "Vut do you mean?".  
"Well, what was your childhood like?" Morgan responded.  
She wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't really have a childhood to speak of or at least not one she wanted to talk about much. Adding to her confusion was the fact that it had only been recently that people had started taking an active interest in her, and while she was starting to get used to it, Laura was still slightly shocked that people cared about who she was.  
"Vell, um" she started; debating how much to tell him, "I vas raised in Germany".  
Morgan laughed.  
"I think I might have figured that out" he joked.  
Laura was visibly hurt by his comment, and Morgan quickly stopped smiling and apologized, "Oh! I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings".  
"It is fine" Laura assured him. _I should tell him_, she told herself, _It does not seem like he vill run away if I do_.

With that, Laura started again with newfound resolve, "I vas part of an experiment to create di perfect soldier".  
Morgan was shocked by her statement, and listened in amazement as she went on.  
"I vas genetically engineered to be an apex predator of di battlefield" she continued, "I vas a vorld-class marksmen, und my fitness vas comparable to a grown man's, but ven di IS vas invented, I became obsolete."  
"In an effort to adapt my body to di IS" Laura said as her hand moved to her eyepatch, "My left eye vas transplanted vith nanobots to help me manage di IS' performance". As she finished her statement, Laura removed her eyepatch; revealing her golden eye to Morgan, who was totally engrossed in her story. He continued to sit and listen in silence as Laura explained her past.  
"However, it did not vurk as expected, und I vas branded a failure" she said, "But ven Ms. Orimura became di German IS Instructor, I became an Apex Predator again".  
"I developed a thirst for power seeing my mentor's immense strength, und ven she left Germany to come here, I followed in order to convince her to return. It vas here dat I first met Ichika, the supposed source of my mentor's strength, but I could not accept that her strength came from such a weak boy. I hated him, und promised to destroy him, but he vas able to beat me vith di same strength dat my mentor used: the desire to protect those dear to him. From that point on, my life changed. My name vas no longer a pseudonym. It became my name, und I developed friendships dat are very dear to me now."

Laura finally finished with, "That is my past up until dis point". They both sat in silence for a minute with Laura thinking, _I shouldn't have said dat much,_ while Morgan was taking it all in.  
_There are far too many damaged kids here, Angel_, Morgan told his figurine friend.  
_Yes, but we both know that the IS is a life-changing thing,_ Angel shot back.  
After thinking about that statement and what Laura had said, Morgan started, "You've had a very hard life".  
Laura looked up at him, and nodded; surprised that he still wanted to talk to her.  
"I'm really sorry" Morgan said.  
Laura was even more shocked now. Even with her new friends, sympathy still came as a surprise.  
"I-It is not your fault" she stammered.  
"I'm still sorry that you had to go through it" Morgan replied, "My life hasn't been easy either, but it doesn't even compare to yours".  
Laura was happy that he hadn't rejected her, but cautiously asked, "V-Vut vas your life like".

Morgan hesitated before opening up. He didn't think it was quite fair to have Laura tell her story, which was much more dramatic than his, and not tell his own story. So he told her the exact same thing he'd told Charlotte the night before; included everything from his chance encounter with the IS to the total dismemberment of the life he had known and loved. He made sure to tell her about his government's control over his life because he realized the connection they shared, and seeing Laura's understanding face when he mentioned it comforted him.

After he was finished, Morgan saw Laura's sympathetic face, and he felt his burden lift a little.  
"So I guess we're both children of circumstance" Morgan concluded, "Neither of us were intended to pilot an IS or even be here, and yet here we are".  
Laura smiled at him, "Yes, here we are".  
Morgan smiled back, and looked outside.  
"Oh Christ, it's almost sunset" he exclaimed.  
Laura looked outside to confirm this, and saw the rim of the sun as it started to kiss the horizon. The two had lost track of time while they were talking, and the world had moved on around them without them noticing. They quickly cleaned up their supper, and walked back to their rooms.  
Morgan walked Laura to her room, and realized that he had been there the night before too. He made a mental note of Charlotte and Laura's roommate arrangement before bidding Laura good night, and telling her that he needed to catch up on his sleep.

Laura closed her door, and turned to see Charlotte sitting up in her bed; rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had just woken up from her nap, and was slowly realizing that she had woken up while the world was going to sleep.  
Laura walked over to her, and said, "I have a great story to tell you".  
Charlotte sat quietly and listened while her friend relayed all of the day's post-class events, and when her roommate had finished, she said, "Sounds like you two really connected".  
Laura was practically bouncing with joy; asking her roommate, "Do you think he think's I'm cute".  
Charlotte had no response other than a short, "I don't know".

Laura was caught up in her own world, and entertained herself until she went to sleep.  
Charlotte layed in her bed; thinking about what a jerk Morgan was for playing with her feelings, but she was unaware that when Morgan had gotten into his room, his mind went straight to her...

Morgan walked into class full of energy the next day. He said , "Hi" to Houki, Rin, Laura, Cecilia, Ichika, and Charlotte, but he was disappointed to see that when he greeted Charlotte, she gave a very apathetic reply without making eye contact, and turned away; pouting slightly. He hoped that he hadn't done anything to offend her, but he still had to go to his desk as class started.

Ms. Yamada called for the class' attention before starting an announcement that had become far too familiar.  
"I'm happy to introduce a new transfer student today" she said.  
She beckoned for a figure outside of the door to come and introduce themselves.

A tall figure walked to the front of the class, and turned to announce its existence to the room.  
A name flashed in the holographic screen as the figure said in an Irish accent, "Hello, my name is Luke Lincoln, and it's nice to meet you". The boy's accent made Ichika turn back to see how Cecilia would react. He also had short, golden-brown hair that hung on his head in a jumbled mess, and deep, forest-green eyes that hypnotized most of the girls in the room. He had a medium brow, and a strong jawline, but the outstanding feature that kept Morgan's attention was the fact that he was a boy.  
_You know what, _Morgan told Angel, _I'm beginning to think that my being a boy is not really as special as I was told._  
_Yeah you're right. Now you're only one of three,_ Angel replied sarcastically.

"Would you like to tell us about yourself, Luke" Ms. Yamada asked.  
"Well I'm the Representative Contender for Ireland" he started, "And I'm a huge science geek'.  
The class waited a few minutes for him to say something more before Ms. Yamada asked, "I-Is that it".  
The boy quickly replied, "Yep. That pretty much sums up my entire being".  
Morgan and a few other's laughed at his remark, and Ms. Yamada told him he could sit down. He looked around before making a bee-line for the desk next to a girl with floppy sleeves and a pikachu hoodie. Morgan recognized her, but it took a minute for him to recall her name: Honne Nohotoke. Morgan's desk was near the back so he also realized that the new boy had a black scar on the back of his neck. He wondered what could have caused it for a while before focusing his attention back on the teacher.

Class continued as usual after that, but after explaining an IS "shift" to the class, Ms. Yamada asked everyone, "What are the only two IS to have ever made a shift". Only two hands went up while the rest of the class looked confused: Luke's and Morgan's. She called on Morgan first.  
"Well the Byakushiki is one" he replied.  
"Excellent" Ms. Yamada exclaimed, "Can you name the other one, Luke?"  
Luke replied, "The Silver Gospel".  
Ms. Yamada was thrilled that both students knew the answer, and went back to teaching the class.

Meanwhile, Morgan was talking to Angel. _I'm surprised he knew that_, he said, _That's the kind of trivia that they ask on Who Wants to be a Millionaire_.  
_Maybe you've finally found a chess buddy_, Angel joked.

The remainder of class went by with Morgan staring at this new, mysterious boy as he quietly conversed with Honne, and Morgan started wondering just who this kid was.


	9. The Perils of Not Paying Attention

HELLO EVERYONE! I am so sorry for how long you've had to wait. I've been very busy with school ending soon, and trying to find scholarships, and I've had some poetry competitions that have stolen my attention. I'll try to get back to my usual output, but I might get dragged away again. I apologize again for the long wait.

Chapter 9: The Perils of Not Paying Attention

Class let out, and all of the students started filing out. Rin came in and grabbed Houki so they could have some girl time; Cecilia left to practice her cooking. Laura and Charlotte went off together to discuss... personal interests, and that left Morgan and Ichika alone together.  
"So are you ready to go get some practice?" Ichika asked.  
"Yeah. Let's go" Morgan replied with a smile.  
They both started making their way to the arena, but as they left the room, Morgan shot a glance at Luke. He was in the middle of a group of girls (presumably Honne's friends) being marvelled at.  
He started theorizing about the new boy, but quickly shelved the thought, and started making small talk with Ichika on the way to the changing rooms.  
"So Ichika, what's up?"  
"Oh nothing much. What's going on with you? Are you settling in well?"  
Morgan smiled.  
"Yeah, haha. This place is finally starting to feel like home"  
They continued their small talk all the way to the changing rooms, and quickly hurried out to the arena.

When they initially entered the stadium, there were many people practicing, but after seeing Morgan and Ichika get into their stances, everyone quickly cleared out.  
Morgan glanced at the stands to see that they were filling up, and wondered if it was because he and Ichika were top fighters or simply because they were boys.  
Angel flashed alerts on Morgan's visor to get his attention.  
_Oh yeah, _he thought as he looked over at Ichika, _I can't be distracted with him there_  
All of a sudden, Ichika disappeared, and Morgan felt a presence behind him. He turned just in time to block Ichika's slash, and he also extended his arm to activate his hand cannon.  
Morgan shot, but Ichika evaded at the last second, and they were in a stand off once more.

_I can't let this turn into a slugfest, _Morgan thought, _I've got to keep him at a distance_  
He decided on a plan, and boosted backwards while firing his hand cannons.  
Ichika tried to boost after him, but got caught up in deflecting Morgan's shots.  
_I've got him, _Morgan thought, and he was smiling to himself when Angel flashed alerts and he felt a presence behind him. Ichika knocked him all the way to the ground, and when Morgan tried to get up, he found Ichika's blade at his throat.  
_Damn it_

While they returned to the changing rooms, Morgan asked Ichika, "How did you get behind me?".  
Ichika's reply was simple.  
"You spaced out for a minute, and I got out of your onslaught. You just weren't focused on me, and I boosted behind you"  
_Damn it,_ Morgan chided himself for being so stupid.  
"Oh well, haha. You deserved to win" he conceded, "Wanna grab a meal?"  
"I'd love to" Ichika started, "but Houki and I already had plans. Some other time, though".  
"Oh sure" Morgan replied.  
They finished getting dressed, and bid each other goodbye before parting.  
_Well I guess I'll just wander around,_ Morgan thought.  
_You need to get some food after something like that, _Angel told him, _You need to replace the shit he just kicked out of you._  
Morgan brooded silently as Angel chuckled inwardly.

When he got to the cafeteria, Morgan quickly got his food, and looked around for a place to sit. After a few seconds of scanning, he found Cecilia sitting alone in the corner. He snuck up behind her, and said, "Is this seat taken?".  
She looked up in a daze to see his smiling face, and gave a flustered reply, "Why, of course not. I could always use some company".  
Morgan sat across from her, and started chatting her up.  
"So, Cecilia, what's up?"  
"Oh nothing really. Just passing the time, and trying to master the IS"  
"You seemed pretty wrapped up in thought when I showed up" Morgan said, "Mind sharing what that was about?"  
He could see the normally cool Cecilia hesitate, and she started fidgeting too.  
"Oh, I was just thinking about my family" she said.  
Morgan's curiosity was piqued.  
"What is your family like?" He asked.  
Again, Cecilia's cool composure cracked, and Morgan could tell that something was wrong.  
"Actually, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to" he told her.  
Cecilia didn't relax, but after a few seconds, she exhaled and said, "That's quite alright. I need to share with someone".  
Morgan stopped eating, and put his food down to listen to the story Cecilia had to tell.

"I had a very privileged upbringing, but I never got very close to my parents. I was sent off to boarding school at a very young age, and as such, only got to see my family on holidays." Cecilia seemed very sad at this statement.  
"Despite that, I still loved them greatly" she started cheering up, "My mother was a very strong woman, and after the introduction of the IS, she became even more so. I very much admired her, and strived to be like her"  
"My father, on the other hand, was a weak and pitiful man" she said.  
"He had absolutely no significance inside or outside the family, and he served as my example of the absolutely imperfect man".  
Cecilia's frustration with her father subsided as she recounted another memory.  
"Life was nice for a while, but when I was little, we decided to all go on holiday together" she said.  
"It was the first time all of us had been in the same place, but there was an accident and the train derailed. Many people perished. My parents were among them" Cecilia's head leaned down, and Morgan saw tears forming in her eyes.  
"I was left all alone as the sole heir to my family's fortune. I was constantly being pushed aside so others could try and take it. I felt so alone. I-"  
Cecilia suddenly felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to find Morgan's smiling face and his hands wiping away her tears.  
"It's OK" he said, "It's OK".  
Cecilia shoved her face into his chest, and sobbed while Morgan comforted her.  
After collecting herself, she finished her story.  
"With everyone trying to take my family's money, I made a deal with the government. I promised to be their Representative Contender in exchange for them protecting my money".  
"It's OK" Morgan reassured her, "You're here now, and that's all that matters"  
"Thank you for listening, Morgan" Cecilia said, "I didn't think anyone would care about my story".  
"Well I haven't had a very easy life either" he replied.  
"What was yours like" Cecilia asked.

Morgan told her the same story he had told Charlotte and Laura. He relayed every bit of information exactly as he had before, and when he finished Cecilia comforted him, saying, "Well, like you said, the important thing is that you're here now".  
"Yeah, haha" Morgan said, "Now I have a new family".

The two kept talking until sunset, and then they bid each other goodnight before leaving for their rooms.

Cecilia entered hers, and felt her heart racing.  
"Goodness" she thought, "How can he have this much of an effect on me"  
She plopped down on her bed as she thought about how muc of a gentleman he had been.  
"He's not like my father at all" she thought, "He's a very nice, strong, and compassionate man. Someone I could see myself falling for"  
She fell asleep thinking about Morgan smiling as he wiped the tears from her eyes.


	10. The Challenge

As compensation for my long absence, I've written a very long chapter for you. It's a very important chapter, and I hope that all of you enjoy it. Without furthur ado, here it is

Chapter 10:

The next day, Morgan and Ichika walked into class and made the normal rounds. Ichika and Houki had their own special greeting, but Morgan's usual greetings were unusual. Yes, Rin, Laura and Houki all gave a cheery reply, but Charlotte still gave him the cold shoulder. In stark contrast to that was his greeting to Cecilia. When Morgan smiled at her in greeting, Cecilia jumped out of her seat, and hugged him closely. Morgan was totally caught off guard by her reaction, and awkwardly hugged her back.

Cecilia whispered into his ear, "Thank you for listening yesterday".

Morgan awkwardly responded, "Uh, no problem".

They released each other, and Morgan looked to see Charlotte's upset face staring at him for a moment before facing the front of the class.

Ms. Yamada was calling the class to order, and everyone quickly settled into their seats. Morgan immediatly began exchanging thoughts with Angel.

_So I think I've accidentally made Charlotte jealous_, Morgan told him.

_Oh really_, Angel replied sarcastically, _What makes you think that? Could it have possibly been the death glare she gave you?_

_Yeah I get it_, Morgan replied, _I guess having semi-romantic relationships with her roommate and one other girl wasn't a good idea, but how can I make it up to her?_

_Talk to her about it_, Angel said, _Explain everything to her, and just hope she understands._

_And you think that will work?_, Morgan asked.

_If it doesn't, we'll think of something else_, Angel assured him.

Morgan wasn't fully satisfied with the plan, but he decided that it was best to start focusing on class again...

When class ended, Morgan tried to hurry over to Charlotte, but she gave him an angry look before quickly leaving the room. Morgan was left by her desk with an arm extended towards the door. He was wearing a worried expression on his face when he felt a finger tap his shoulder, and he turned to see a very bouncy Cecilia.

"Hello, Morgan" she said smiling widely.

"Hey Cecilia" Morgan replied, trying to shake off his melancholy.

"Are you ready for your lesson?" Cecilia asked.

"Yeah, sure" he replied, "Let's get going"...

Morgan and Cecilia made their way to the arena, but Morgan was in a funk the whole way. No matter how bright and bubbly Cecilia was, and no matter how much she tried to cheer him up, Morgan felt terrible about his standing with Charlotte. The only thing that brought him out of his funk was an accidental run-in with Luke Lincoln. While Morgan was moping, and Cecilia was chatting next to him, Luke passed them on his way from the arena. He grabbed Morgan's attention immediately.

He had a very odd intensity about him. He made Morgan very curious and very wary at the same time. He was sure that they would get to know each other in the future, but he didn't see it happening anytime soon. There was too much stuff occupying his time. All the rest of the way to the changing rooms, Morgan was thinking about Luke, and even when he was waiting for Cecilia, his thoughts were on the strange, new boy. Only when Cecilia bounched out of the changing rooms did he snap out of his stupor.

"Are you prepared for our battle?" she asked.

"Oh yeah" Morgan replied with fire in his eyes, "Let's go"...

After a few minutes of pre-fight preperations, Morgan and Cecilia were ready to battle, and the stands were once more filling up. Morgan smirked as he got into his stance, and again wondered wether the attention was attributed to his ability or his gender. Angel flashed an alert on the visor letting Morgan know that all systems were green, and Morgan looked across to his opponent. Cecilia was as bouncy and confident as ever, and she looked ready to go.

The two stared each other down for a few more seconds.

All of a sudden, Morgan winked at Cecilia.

She was so surprised by the gesture that she started to blush, and didn't notice that Morgan had suddenly appeared behind her.

He slashed a her multiple times as she tried to regain her composure, and he finally kicked her away.

_My goodness_, Cecilia thought, _How clever of him._

_He knew I would be distracted, and took full advantage._

_It was a big mistake letting me get distance, though. Now he's mine._

Her thoughts on "having" him wandered somewhere else, and she started blushing as she readied her cannons to fire.

Meanwhile, Morgan was readying himself for her onslaught. He checked his sword's energy supply, and got ready as her cannons fired.

The beams closed in on him rapidly, and he lifted his sword to block them. When he did, the sword's reflective abilities allowed him to deflect them right back at Cecilia in the blink of an eye.

As the lasers drained the last of her shields, Cecilia smiled at the idea of being outwitted in such a charming way...

When both of them had finished changing, Cecilia put her arm in Morgan's and said, "So, my knight in shiny black armor, shall we have dinner together again?"

"I'd love to" Morgan replied, "But there's some stuff I have to do"

"Oh" Cecilia said pouting, "Well maybe some other time?"

"Sure" he replied with a smile.

The two again bid each other goodbye before Cecilia went off to get supper, and Morgan went off to straighten things out...

Morgan stood in front of the door he'd seen almost as much as his own. He hesitated for a few minutes before finally raising his hand and knocking on the door.

"One moment s'il vous plait" said a voice from inside.

The door opened a crack, and a cute face peeked out. After realizing who had knocked, the face pouted.

"Oh" Charlotte said, "It is you".

"Yeah" Morgan said with an awkward smile.

"Did you come here to see Laura" Cecilia said spitefully, "She's not here".

Morgan felt like he had been punched in the gut.

"No" he said, "I was hoping to talk to you".

"What about?" Charlotte asked.

Morgan could feel his confidence fading quickly.

_Come on,_ Angel urged him, _Just tell her you want to set things straight._

"I just wanted to set things straight" Morgan said as he started fidgeting, "You know... With us...".

"What do you mean "us"?" Charlotte asked.

"Well" Morgan answered, "I just wanted to know, like, where we stand"

"Wi" she said, "I do too".

"Well then why don't we go up to the roof and talk about it?" Morgan replied.

Charlotte stared at him for a few seconds, questioning wether or not she should go.

After a few more seconds, she said, "Let me get dressed", and disappeared back into the room...

The door to the roof opened, and Morgan and Charlotte stepped out into the golden rays of sunset. They both took a few minutes to bask in the beauty before making their way over to the rail that had brought them together.

"So" Morgan said, "You've probably heard about the interaction I've had with Laura and Cecilia".

"Laura was ecstatic" Charlotte said scornfully, "And Cecilia was all over you today in class".

"Yeah" Morgan replied with an awkward laugh, "That wasn't anything I was expecting either".

"Well what does zat mean?" She asked, "What about what happened between us? Was zat a lie?"

"No" Morgan quickly replied, "That was absolutely real".

"Well zen what about zem?" Charlotte asked.

"Listen" Morgan grabbed Charlotte and looked her straight in the eyes, "All of the stuff with them I would happily give up if it meant I could be with you".

Charlotte was shocked by his boldness, and Morgan was shocked that he had said it.

"Sorry" Morgan muttered as he released his hold on her. He was freaking out inside, sure that he had said too much.

_Hey, calm down_, Angel said, _It's not the worst thing you could have said._

_It was in the top 5,_ Morgan shot back.

Meanwhile, Charlotte was processing Morgan's confession.

_Did he really just say zat?_

_Did he mean it?_

_Maybe he really means it, but how I can sure?_

After a minute that felt like an eternity, Charlotte broke the silence by asking, "Do you mean zat?"

Morgan was shocked that she hadn't run away.

_See_, Angel said, _Honesty is the best policy._

Morgan slowly straightened himself up, and looked at her.

"Y-Yeah".

"Prove it to me" She said.

"H-How?" He asked.

"Zare is an intraschool tournament next Saturday" Charlotte started, "If you can win, I will go out with you".

Morgan was in disbelief. He was mainly surprised that she hadn't just flat out rejected him. To compound his confusion was the fact that the challenge was so unusual. He felt confident of his chances if that was it.

"I'll do it" he said with a big smile.

Charlotte couldn't help but smile back, and things seemed right once again.

The sun had set with Morgan's answer, and they decided it was time to leave...

After Morgan had walked Charlotte to her room and said goodnight, he starting happily walking to his room.

_Did you hear that, Angel?_, He asked his partner, _All I have to do is win the tournament, and she'll go out with me._

_I wouldn't be so confident if I were you_, Angel responded, _Don't forget that Ichika is in it too._

Morgan stopped in his tracks.

_Damn it. He is isn't he,_ he said.

_Yeah he is_, Angel replied, _And you're going to have to train a lot if you're going to beat him because right now, you can't_.

_There's also the wild card,_ Morgan said, _Neither of us knows what Luke is capable of, but you can bet that he has his own IS_.

_My thoughts exactly,_ Angel said.

_Well, I guess we'll just train our asses off, and see how far it takes us,_ Morgan decided.

_I guess so,_ Angel replied.

Morgan and Angel walked the rest of the way in silence.

Morgan got ready for bed, and cast one last look at his sleeping rival before settling into his bed.

He thought one last time about what Luke could be capable of before drifting off to sleep...


	11. Sharing is Caring

Chapter 11: Sharing is Caring

The next day, Morgan walked into class, and made a beeline for Charlotte.

"Hey" he said as she turned ans smiled at him, "Ready for our practice today?"

"Wi" Charlotte said, "I am looking forward to it"

Me too Morgan said as the two shared a hesitant smile.

Then Morgan went about greeting everyone else, even reluctantly accepting hugs from both Cecilia AND Laura before settling down in his seat as class started.

_So_, Angel started, _what should we do about the competition?_

_Well let's go through and rate our chances,_ Morgan replied.

_Ok,_ Angel said, _Let's start with Laura._

_We can beat her,_ Morgan said, _She's a short- to mid-range fighter. The only long-distance threat is her railgun, and we can easily avoid that._

_Sounds good_, Angel said, _What about Cecilia?_

_That might be the easiest matchup_, Morgan answered, _She's long-distance, but we can close in on her quickly and take her out_.

_Yeah. Our last match against her just showed how specialized her IS is,_ Angel responded, _What about Rin?_

_We haven't faced her person-to-person yet, but I think we can do it_, Morgan told his partner, _She's short- to mid-range like Laura, but I think we have the edge because of manueverability and close-range skill._

_Sounds easy_, Angel said, _Now for the hard ones... How do you rate our chances against Houki?_

_I'm not entirely sure, but I'm not counting us out_, Morgan answered, _She might be as fast and strong as Ichika, but we are too, and I think our instincts give us the edge._

_Let's hope you're right_, Angel told his partner. There was a long pause before Angel asked, _So what about Ichika?_

Morgan took a minute to respond.

_As long as I don't make any mistakes..._

Morgan sighed.

_It's still 50/50._

_Yeah. That's what I thought too_, Angel said, _We're just gonna have to train and hope that we improve enough to sway those odds in our favor._

The two sat in silence for a while while Ms. Yamada explained to the class how bus slots worked.

Morgan finally broke the telepathic silence.

_And then there's Luke..._

_What do you think?_, His partner asked.

_I don't know what to think,_ Morgan replied, _He almost certainly has a personal IS which means that he could be the fastest and strongest one here._

Angel waited for his partner's final proposal to beat him.

_I guess we'll just have to do the same thing we're doing for Ichika_, Morgan told him, _Train our asses off, and hope we win._

The two stopped conversing for a while, and Morgan actually started paying attention to what Ms. Yamada was saying when Angel suddenly entered his counciousness once more.

_Oh!_, he said, _What about Charlotte?_

Morgan was about to answer when the bell rang.

_I guess we'll find out soon, haha, _Morgan said as he got up from his chair.

Morgan hurried over the Charlotte's desk.

"Hey" He said with a smile, "Ready?"

"Wi" Charlotte smiled back.

"Then let's go" Morgan said.

The two started leaving, but as Morgan exited the door, he shot a glance at Luke who was once again in the middle of Honne's friends.

_Just gotta keep training_, Angel told him as he left to catch up with Charlotte...

After changing and stepping out to the arena, Morgan found himself in a very familiar situation. He was once again standing opposite a cute girl, about to fight in an arena with quickly filling stands. Angel finished his system check, and flashed an alert telling his partner that things were 100%.

Morgan looked straight across at the very reason he was training, and thought about how conflicted he was about fighting her.

_I guess I can't hold back now,_ he thought to himself as he got into his stance.

The two paused, unsure as to when they should start fighting, but Charlotte suddenly drew her guns and started firing at her redheaded friend.

Morgan quickly took evasive action, but got showered with bullets anyway. He boosted to get out of the cloud of bullets, and shot up to furthur distance himself from the assault.

_Damn it_, he thought as he weaved around avoiding bullets, _Why can't I dodge them?_

His questioning was interrupted by more bullets, and he finally decided to seath his sword and attack with his hand cannons.

He fired shot after shot, trying desperately to hit her, but she simply evaded, and that forced him into more evasive manuevers. He couldn't even send out copies because they would get shot immediately.

_GOD DAMN IT,_ he thought as he kept spiraling around, avoiding bullets.

_Calm down_, He told himself, _You definitely won't win if you're flustered._

_Those kind of mistakes will always make you lose._

After a few more seconds of dodging, Morgan came up with a plan.

_It's risky,_ he thought, _But I can end this if I do it right._

After spiraling around another column of bullets, Morgan dove straight down at the ground at full-speed. When he landed, he immediatly cradled his hands together in his gut and focused his energy there.

It didn't take long for Charlotte to lock on to him and resume firing.

_Please work. Please work. Please work. Please work._

As the bullets rained down on him, bringing his shields dangerously low, he released the massive energy shot that had been building in his hands. As it travelled towards Charlotte, it deflected her bullets and gave Morgan time to catch his breath and draw his sword.

_Now focus all of the remaining energy into the sword_, Morgan relayed to his partner, _But leave some for an ignition boost. We're going to use the Zeus Blade technique_.

Morgan watched the skies for any movement, and finally saw a speck shoot off to the left.

_NOW!_, He told his partner.

The speck quickly grew as Morgan boosted towards it, and he watched as the figure raised its hand in an attempt to hit him.

"Not fast enough", Morgan said as he flew by and slashed at her.

The world froze for a moment as the crowd tried to figure out what happened. The crowd's murmurs were growing loud when all of a sudden, Charlotte's IS began shooting off electricity. It was sending off bokt after blot for a few second, and then stopped and began to slowly float downward.

_How did he do zat?_, Charlotte wondered, _I had full shields_.

Morgan started to float down to the ground, and looked at his shields when he did.

_Jesus Christ!_, He exclaimed, _Why didn't you tell me I had 5% shields, Angel?!_

Once Angel had returned to his pendant form, he answered, _I figured it would only distract you._

Morgan realized that his partner was probably right, and thanked him before turnkng to make sure Charlotte was alright.

Her suit was still smoking a little bit, but it was starting to come back to life.

_I probably should have gone a little bit easier on her_, he thought as he scratched the back of his head.

Morgan walked over to Charlotte's smoking suit, and started worrying that he'd gone too far.

"Hey" he said as he leaned closer to her face, "Are you alright?"

Charlotte looked up and saw Morgan's worried expression.

"Wi" she said as she flashed a smile, "I am perfectly alright".

"Oh thank god" Morgan said as he breathed a sigh of relief, "I thought I might have hurt you".

"Do not worry, you did not harm me" Charlotte reassured him as she dismounted her suit, "But you will have to explain to me how you did zat".

Then there was an explosion of sounds around the two fighters that made both of them jump. The crowd had been watching on, and when it became clear that Charlotte was OK, they felt the urge to applaude both of them for their efforts.

"Oh, haha" Morgan laughed when he realized what was happening, "I'd forgotten they were there, hahaha".

Charlotte was clearly surprised too, but they both laughed it off, and waved to the crowd on their way to the changing rooms...

After Morgan finished putting his clothes one and left the changing room, Charlotte wrapped her arm around his while they walked, and said, "Now you must tell me how you did zat".

"Sure thing, haha" Morgan told her, "But can we do it over a meal?"

"But of course" Charlotte answered, and they continued on their way to the cafeteria...

Both of them got their meals, and started looking for a place to sit.

"There doesn't seem to be anything open" Charlotte said disappointedly.

"Looks like you're right" Morgan replied, "We could always go to our spot on the roof".

Charlotte looked at Morgan as he smiled and winked.

"Zat sounds good to me" she replied...

Once they had settled down on the roof, Charlotte asked Morgan the question that had been bothering her since the fight.

"Morgan" she started.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"What exactly happened back zare?"

Morgan put down his food, and got ready to give an explanation.

"I used a technique called the Zeus Blade. My sword has special properties that allow it to transform my shield energy into elemental energy when I channel my shield energy into it. It's a very risky technique that closely resembles Ichika's Reiraku Byakuya, but it's a one-hit kill, and it's usually more effective because of my... instincts...".

"What do you mean by zat?" Charlotte asked.

_Can I tell her?_, Morgan asked his partner.

_I trust your judgement_, Angel replied, _If you trust her, I trust her._

With his best friend's consent, he looked at Charlotte who had been staring at him in silence.

"Can you keep a secret, Charlotte?" Morgan asked.

"Of course" she assured him.

"Have you ever had an imaginary friend?" He asked, "Like, one that you took with you everywhere and you shared a special bond with?"

"Um, sure" Charlotte said. She didn't really understand how the question was relevant.

"Well that's what it's like with me and Black Angel" Morgan explained while he took his necklace off, "We have a special, emotional relationship that lets us communicate telepathically. Through some sort of accident in his manufacturing process, Angel developed a sentience. He thinks and acts like a normal person, and it's allowed us to be perfectly in tune with each other in battle".

"Here" he said as he handed her his pendant, "Talk to him yourself".

Charlotte was in disbelief of Morgan's explanation, and hesitated before holding her hand out.

Morgan lowered his necklace onto her hand, and she suddenly heard a voice in her head say, _Hello there_. Charlotte looked around to find the voice's owner, but only saw Morgan.

_I'm in your hand_, the voice said.

Charlotte looked opened her hand and looked at the black angel figurine, and then she looked at Morgan in disbelief.

"How do I talk to him?", she asked.

"For now, you can just speak, and he'll hear you", he answered, "After a while, you'll be able to communicate without speaking".

_For now, though, you can just talk normally_, the voice said, _My name is Black Angel, but you can call me Angel. It's very nice to meet you, Ms. Charlotte_.

_"_It is very nice to meet you too_"_ Charlotte replied in a daze.

_Morgan has had nothing, but good things to say about you_, Angel told her, _You should hear how he talks about you._

"Oh really?", Charlotte said. Morgan started blushing, and scratching his head.

_I don't think she needs to know that, Angel_, Morgan told him.

_It's fun anyways_, Angel said with a chuckle.

Morgan gently took his necklace back from Charlotte.

"So that's my secret" he said, "Please promise me that you won't tell anyone"

"You have my solemn word" Charlotte said with a smile.

By now the sun was setting, and they walked back to the cafeteria with their trays, and then walked arm in arm all the way back to Charlotte's room.

They bid each other goodnight, and Morgan walked back to his room, got ready for bed, and drifted off to a deep, comfortable sleep...


	12. Weekends Off Pt1

Hey, guys. It's gonna be a short one today. writing this much dialogue between Angel and Morgan really took a while, and I want to give the next event a whole chapter.

Chapter 12: Weekends Off

Morgan slowly opened his eyes as he felt light from the window hitting his eyes. He blinked slowly as he stretched his arms and legs. He let out a moan as he felt his body slowly coming back to life. He relaxed and stayed in that position while his mind booted up. After a while, he sat up, and looked around. The lights in the room were off, and the blinds were drawn. He could see the sunbeams filtering through the blinds, and turned to see that Ichika's bed was empty. He scratched his head as he turned to his bedside table. He saw Angel sitting on his table, and found a hastily drawn note beside him. He picked it up, and squinted as his eyes tried to focus on the writing.

_Hey, Morgan,_

_Since it's your first time experiencing an Academy weekend, why not let us show you around? I've got some stuff to do so I had to leave before you woke up, but if you go the arena's entrance at 2:00, me and the rest of the gang will show you what we do on the weekends._

_Signed,_

_Orimura Ichika_

Morgan looked at his clock and saw that it was only 9:25. He swung his legs off of the bed and sat on the edge for a few seconds while he rubbed his eyes. He turned towards his bedside table, and offered a groggy greeting to his partner before picking him up, and heading off to the bathroom.

_So what did the note say?,_ Angel asked.

_We're supposed to meet up with everyone at 2:00_, Morgan told him as he set his figurine friend down on the sink and looked in the mirror.

_Well we've got plenty of time_, Angel said as he partner turned the shower on, _What do you want to do until then?_

_I was thinking we could think up some new techniques_, Morgan replied as he stepped into the shower and felt the water wet his hair and flow down his body, _And then we could go train_.

_Nobody will be at the arena on a Saturday_, Angel told his partner as Morgan squirted shampoo into his hand.

_Well they still have a film room, don't they?_, Morgan replied as he lathered his hair. He knew that they kept footage of all the fights in the arena, and he wanted to watch his fights with Ichika and Charlotte.

_OK_, Angel said in reply, _I guess we'll watch film for 4 hours._

_Oh don't be sulky_, Morgan told his partner, _We'll practice some new techniques too._

_OK_, Angel replied, _What were you thinking for some new techniques?_

_We could try to use the cloaking_, Morgan said as he washed the shampoo from his hair and reached for the soap.

_It only works if we don't move_, Angel said, _It's not really meant for combat scenarios._

_Good point_, Morgan said as he started rubbing his body with soap, _We could always the sword's other abilites._

_What were you thinking?_, Angel asked.

_We could use it to shoot lightning_, Morgan replied as he started spraying his arms down.  
_That's an interesting thought_, Angel said, _But it sounds incredibly risky too._

_Well I'm still waking up_, Morgan said as he finished washing the rest of his body, _We can talk about this more later._

_Fair enough_, Angel replied.

Morgan turned the water off, and stepped out of the shower.

_So what do you think about Charlotte?_, Morgan asked.

_She's a very nice girl_, Angel answered as his partner picked him up and walked back to the bedroom, _When I was in her head, her conciousness was very comforting._

_Did you sense any reason not to trust her?_, Morgan asked as he put his friend on the bed and started getting dressed.

_Nothing like it_, Angel told him, _I trust her like you do._

Morgan smiled as his faith in her was validated, and finished zipping up his pants and throwing his shirt on.

_Ready to go?_, Morgan asked his friend.

_Yeah_, Angel answered, _Let's get some breakfast, and then we'll go train._

Morgan slipped his necklace on and looked in the mirror one final time before heading off...

After Morgan finished eating his breakfast, he threw out his trash and started making his way to the arena.

_We could try to find some creative uses for the phantoms_, Morgan said to Angel.

_There's only so much we can do with illusions_, Angel replied.

_Well I guess we'll have to think new ways to use what we've got_, Morgan resolved as he opened the arena door.

_I thought that was what we were doing_, Angel said.

_I mean less coming up with new techniques and more coming up with new strategies_, Morgan told his partner.

_And what did you have in mind?_, Angel asked.

_I'll think about it after we're done watching film_, Morgan said.

Angel accepted his partner's statement, and they both went to gather tapes and go to a film room.

Once they had settled into a room, Morgan and Angel put on the film.

They set up the projector and put on the film. They poured over the footage for hours, examing every minute detail from Morgan's footwork to his timing. After a while, Morgan sank into a chair.

_I think we've managed to completely fry my brain_, Morgan told his partner.

_Take a nap_, Angel replied, _That's always seemed to help you learn in the past._

_Yeah_, Morgan said, _I guess you're right._

He looked at his watch.

_We've got an hour and a half_, He said to Angel.

_Plenty of time for a quick nap_, Angel responded.

Morgan laid his head down on the desk slowly drifted off to sleep...

Morgan woke up with a little urging from Angel.

He picked his head up and wiped the slobber from his cheek.

_What time is it?_, He asked.

_It's 2:10_, Angel answered.

Morgan took a second to process that statement, but quickly lept to his feet, and grabbed the film.

"Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck" he said as he ran to return the tapes.

He busted into the room where he had gotten the tapes, and slammed them down on the first table he saw before turning around and running for the entrance.

He exploded through the front doors, and scared the hell out of all his friends who were waiting there.

"Hey, Morgan" Ichika said as his heart tried to slow down.

"Sorry I'm late" Morgan said as he tried to catch his breath, "I fell asleep, and I lost track of time".

"Oh that's OK" Ichika assured him, "We weren't waiting for too long. Are you ready to see how what we do for Academy Weekends?"

Morgan finished panting, and smiled at Ichika, "You bet I am".

He turned to look at the rest of his friends and said hi to all of them.

Morgan and Charlotte shared a warm smile before he turned to Ichika and asked, "So what exactly are we doing?"

Ichika finished catching his breath and said, "We're going to take a train into town. There's a new amusement park that's opened up, and we wanted to check it out".

"Sounds good to me" Morgan said as he made eye contact with Charlotte and smiled, "Are there any scary roller coasters?"

"Yeah" Ichika laughed, "There are sure to be plenty".

"Sweet" Morgan said, "Let's get going"...


End file.
